What is the current state/recommendation for trying to move a VM that is a domain controller to another Hyper-V host? I went looking for information on this and although it seems that people have done it without issue Microsoft states not to do so for some reason they don't seem to explain.

This recommendation doesn't make any sense to me, which is why I'm asking about it. I assume they are trying to prevent a update sequence number (USN) rollback﻿? However the VM would have to be powered off to export. Exporting also should include all of the VM settings. So in the end I don't see how the domain controller would even know what happened. I'd expect it would just assume we shutdown and restarted the OS. If you were to just copy the vhd(x) files instead of exporting I would expect more of an issue.

That also makes me wonder how domain controllers would behave in a clustered setup if this wouldn't work!

The reason I'm interested in this is I need to move a Domain Controller (2008R2) from a 2008 Server running the Hyper-V role to a new Hyper-V Server 2012R2 host. I had considered just creating a new VM, but I don't have a Windows Server license and I'd have to hunt down the license that was used to install the 2008R2 DC (It was setup long before I took over and the previous group hasn't provided me with any licensing information to date).

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The article you're referring to is about P2V migrations and backup/restore of AD itsels. It does not apply to your scenario as it is not related to VM migrations on Hyper-V.

We have done it several times, both via Hyper-V console or SCVMM and never had any problem. Live migrations only have a slight network hickup on the final stage that does not really break anything, as the old VM is stopped and the new one activated.

Now, as for 2008 R2 to Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V migrations, I really haven't had it done, as my migrations always were from 2008R2 to Windows 2012 then from that to Windows 2012 R2.

The article has general recommendation about running a virtual domain controller.

Text

Operational Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers
Domain controllers that are running on virtual machines have operational restrictions that do not apply to domain controllers that are running on physical machines. When you use a virtualized domain controller, there are some virtualization software features and practices that you should not use:
Do not use the Export feature on a virtual machine that is running a domain controller.

Text

USN rollback
Take the following precautions to ensure that USN rollback does not occur:
Do not export the virtual machine that is running a domain controller.

Those are general recommendation in the article not specific to the P2V process.

The article has general recommendation about running a virtual domain controller.

Text

Operational Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers
Domain controllers that are running on virtual machines have operational restrictions that do not apply to domain controllers that are running on physical machines. When you use a virtualized domain controller, there are some virtualization software features and practices that you should not use:
Do not use the Export feature on a virtual machine that is running a domain controller.

Text

USN rollback
Take the following precautions to ensure that USN rollback does not occur:
Do not export the virtual machine that is running a domain controller.

Those are general recommendation in the article not specific to the P2V process.

Neither are particular to the scenario you're talking about. If I understand correctly, you're moving﻿ a VM, not exporting and/or restoring it. Nevertheless, live moves on VM via Hyper-V can be done without any problems (can't vouch for 2008R2 to 2012, as I haven't had that experience, but it should be ok). Other option, as Matt pointed out, is shutting down the VM, copy the VHD(x) and create a new VM on the destination using that VHD(x). Same result, as live moving or copying is a failsafe approach.

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